More Than A Friend
by purpledramagirl17
Summary: Based off the 70s TV series. The Hardy Boys are in River Heights for Nancy's Birthday, but it's Bess who gets a surprise she didn't expect. A Bess and Joe centric follow up to Season 2's "Solve Survivor", two part one-shot.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hi everyone! Wow, it has been a REALLY long time since I've written for this fandom and to be quite honest, I'm a little scared. Some of you may have read my older HB/ND stories, for those who haven't I'm going to give you some info on this particular one-shot. My HB/ND series is very much based off the TV series which if you go on YouTube and type in Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, you'll find it. That being said a lot of the characterizations are going to be based off that of the show, not the books but it is set up as a more modern version.**

 **This one-shot is based off an episode called Sole Survivor, it takes place a few months after said episode. Now as stated in the summary, this is Bess/Joe one-shot, I've always been a fan of them and would have liked to see more of the two on the show, if you're not a fan of them, I suggest you not read this rather than being nasty. Enjoy!**

Joe woke with a slight jolt, heart thumping against his chest in a furious rhythm.

In the midst of his panic, he tried to get a good look at his surroundings and remembered that they were on a flight to River Heights, he must have dozed off not long after they boarded.

"Joe?" He jumped again upon feeling a hand grab his shoulder.

"What?" Joe realized how worried his older brother looked. He tried to cover up the slight tremble in his voice.

"You okay?" Frank asked.

Joe blew out a breath, "Yeah. How long was I asleep?" He shifted in his seat.

"You dozed off an hour after we took off," Frank said, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Frank, I said I'm fine."

It was a nightmare, the same one he had been having from time to time.

It had nearly been two months since the incident in Hong Kong and even though they carried on as normal, Joe still hadn't gotten over the whole thing yet.

Even though none of it had been real, Joe couldn't stop hearing those haunting words echoing in his head.

" _Your father and your brother are dead, they have been for eleven months."_

Every time he thought back to that moment, Joe remembered how truly devastated and alone he felt, how much he wanted for none of what he was being to be true. He wanted to close his eyes and never wake up again, anything to get rid of the unbearable pain he was experiencing right then and there.

What had really only been days in that time felt like an eternity as he tried to think of how he was meant to go on living his life without the two people who mattered more to him than anything else.

* * *

"You really didn't need to go to trouble of coming here." Nancy said.

Joe shrugged at her remark, "Oh come on, Nanc. You're one of our best friends. I'm sure you'd come to Bayport if it were Frank's birthday." He smirked cheekily at his brother only to earn a glare.

"My actual birthday isn't until tomorrow." Nancy smiled.

Truth be told, it was nice to be near a familiar face, Joe had _really_ needed it after all that him and Frank had been through. He had a hard time keeping his mind off it when he was just sitting at home.

"So, how have things been for you lately?" Joe slung an arm around Nancy's shoulders to give her a friendly squeeze.

"I just had a case not too long ago that concerned a friend of mine, she went to high school with me." Nancy frowned.

"Is she alright?" Frank asked.

"She will be, I haven't talked to her since the case finished," Nancy replied, "I was really worried about her when I heard what happened."

Joe took that as a cue to change the subject. "Where's your dad?"

"He'll be back tomorrow, he's wrapping up a case in Seattle," Nancy said, "What about you two?"

"Things are going okay, considering . . ." Frank trailed off.

Nancy looked almost guilty for asking, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"Don't worry about it, Nanc." Joe assured her with a semi-fake smile.

Nancy nodded, pursing her lips in a thin line, "George is sick and Bess won't be here for a while, she's working. I told her we'd wait."

* * *

Bess shoved her keys inside her bag as she made her out the backdoor. It was the end of another shift that afternoon and she was heading over to Nancy's house for her birthday. She was especially excited knowing Frank and Joe would be there and it wasn't only due to the fact George was puking her guts out, hence why she wouldn't be there.

It had been partially Bess's idea to invite them; Nancy was preoccupied worrying about a case involving her dad. The last thing Bess wanted was for her best friend to be stressed during her birthday and so she decided to think up a way to make it extra special.

Even though Nancy told both her and the guys it wasn't necessary, Bess knew she was secretly happy they would be there.

"Bess!" She heard the hurried clatter of footsteps coming from behind her.

"Hey, Jenny." Bess smiled.

Jenny was a slim formed girl with wavy, long bright red hair. She started working at the store before Bess and was nice enough to lend her some tips on how to get by there.

"You forgot your jacket." Jenny held out her dark denim jean jacket.

"Thanks, I must've forgotten to grab it on my way out." Bess pulled on the jacket.

"So you got any big plans?" Jenny asked with a slight mischievous tone.

"I'm heading to a friend's house for her birthday," Bess zipped up her jacket, "A couple friends of ours are flying out here to celebrate with us."

"Oh you mean those two guys you've mentioned."

"Yeah, Frank and Joe." Bess nodded.

"That sounds like fun." Jenny grabbed her car keys from her bag and started to walk away, "By the way, which one is your boyfriend again?" She smiled cheekily.

Bess tried to ignore the slight heat rising on her face, "Very funny and to answer your question, neither one. I gotta go."

Jenny shot her a wink before getting in her car.

* * *

Bess made her way towards Nancy's front door, almost calling for Nancy when she heard a very familiar voice coming inside. She recognized that it was Joe she was hearing and started to open the door but something made her stop.

As she tuned into what Joe was saying, Bess got a feeling uneasiness.

" _Nancy, thanks to these people, Frank and my dad were convinced I was dead."_

Upon hearing those words, Bess froze. What was Joe talking about?

" _They told them I had been in a car that crashed into the water and that the chances of my having survived were slim."_

She could feel her throat beginning to constrict as she continued to listen, a slight burning in her eyes.

Bess almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. Joe had come close to being killed? Maybe Nancy knew them a bit better than Bess did, but Bess still considered Frank and Joe as very good friends.

In the past couple of months, Bess stayed in touch with Joe and not once did he say anything to her about going through a near death experience and now she wished he had.

Why would Joe keep something like this from her? Coming close to dying wasn't exactly the sort of thing you kept from a person and Bess couldn't work out what reasons there were for them keeping her in the dark. She thought Joe had come to think of her as someone he could trust.

Apparently she couldn't have been more wrong.

 **I hope you guys enjoyed part 1, part 2 will be up soon. Please review, I love hearing what people have to say as long and I'm open to constructive criticism but please don't be too harsh, I'm only human. If you wanna talk, feel free to message me. Bye for now!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed part 1 and now without further delay, here is part 2. Enjoy!**

The clatter of footsteps made Joe glance over his shoulder and saw Bess standing near the front door.

Joe felt his stomach twist up in knots with guilt. She had been standing outside the door and heard everything that he had just told Nancy. This was far from how he wanted her to find out, he hadn't been sure of how to tell her and so he put off telling her for a while.

"Why the hell would you keep something like this from me?" Bess exclaimed. Her eyes were glistening slightly.

"I wanted to tell you. I just wasn't sure how."

"You know something?" Bess huffed, "I always trusted you but apparently the feeling isn't mutual."

Joe didn't even get a chance to say more before Bess stormed out the door, slamming it harder than he thought someone her size was capable.

Hearing those words stung Joe, he trusted Bess as much as his own family and he hated keeping things from her. The only reason he kept this a secret was that it was too painful to even think of it, he sometimes avoided talking to Frank or his dad about the subject.

Nancy spoke up, "I'll go talk to her." She picked up her jacket when Joe grabbed her arm gently.

"Actually, Nancy, I think I should. She deserves to know the truth." Joe said.

"Are you sure?" Nancy raised a brow at him.

"I'm sure." Joe nodded. "Can I borrow your car?"

"The keys are over there." Nancy pointed to a small table.

"Thanks." Joe grabbed the keys and headed out the door.

* * *

Joe was relieved to find Bess was still outside, about to get inside her car.

"Bess!" He jogged over to her.

The blonde barely acknowledged him, "Go away, Joe." Her tone was blunt though he detected a bit of hurt beneath it. She opened her car door, tossing her bag inside.

Joe sighed, stepping forward, "Look, I'm sorry. I don't blame you for being angry but the least you owe me is a chance to explain."

Bess scoffed, "The least _you_ owe meis some honesty. How do you think it felt when I realized you were keeping me in the dark?"

Joe had his reasons for not telling her but that didn't make the fact he technically lied to her for months any better and he supposed that Nancy being the one to find out first didn't do much to soften the blow either.

"Bess, will you please just listen to what I have to say?" Joe pleaded.

"I hate to break it to you, Joe but nothing you say is going to make much of a difference," Bess said as she got in her car and closed the door, "Have a nice trip back to Bayport."

When she started up her car, the only sound that was a long rasping noise which earned a disgruntled gaze from the blonde.

"It looks like there's something up with your car." Joe said.

Her brow furrowed and her scorning frown deepened as she glowered at him angrily before getting out of the car.

"I'm calling a cab." Bess pushed past him.

Joe grabbed her by the arm, "Bess, come on. You need to hear me out."

"You almost died and never thought maybe it was worth mentioning?" Bess yanked her arm from his grip. "I just can't understand why you felt like you couldn't tell me." Her voice became noticeably weaker and unsteady.

Joe bit down on his lip as he felt his throat tightening, "It's not that I don't trust you. It's just that . . . what happened was something that I-I wish I could stop remembering."

Some of the anger appeared to leave Bess's face and she reached for his hand.

"If you really want me to tell you, I will but you're not gonna like what you hear." Joe cleared his throat.

"You can tell me."

Joe blew out a shaky breath, "These people had me convinced that the worst possible thing had happened."

* * *

Bess couldn't believe what Joe was telling her, to her it sounded like some kind of horrific dream that you wanted to wake up from and couldn't.

Joe had been convinced of the fact that Frank and Fenton had been dead for months. She didn't even want to imagine what it would feel like being in that sort of situation; waking up in a strange hospital and finding out your family had been killed.

"I thought I was going to come back home to visit Frank and my dad's graves for the first time." Joe's voice held a strained edge, sounding as if it would break any minute.

Bess felt the corners of her eyes prickle, "Joe, I-I don't-oh god, that's horrible."

"Even after it was over, I couldn't seem to forget about it," Joe wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, "There were even times, there _still_ are times that I have nightmares about it."

Bess bit back a small sob that caught in throat, "I can't believe you went through something like that."

Now Bess found herself regretting the way she reacted, she could understand why he was hesitant to talk about it. She couldn't be sure if she would feel any different after going through that kind of thing even if it hadn't been real.

"There were a lot of reasons why I didn't tell you," Joe rang his hands together, "I just wanted to try and forget about it which . . . hasn't been easy."

"Hey, it's over now." Bess gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"I didn't think I was ever going see them again, the only family I had." Joe sniffled, putting a hand over his mouth.

Bess pulled him into a tight hug, feeling him return the embrace. She heard him let out a trembling breath and rubbed his back gently.

She knew Joe loved Frank and his father more than anything; he had come close to losing them both one too many times before. The fact someone tried to use that against him for their own selfish needs made her blood boil.

"I don't even wanna think about what Frank and Fenton must have been thinking." Bess said as the embrace ended.

"They thought I was more than likely dead. It could've ended up that way for all of us if those people had their way." Joe told her.

"I'm glad you're okay, to be quite honest I think you're part of the reason for Frank's sanity." Bess cracked a small smile.

"He might disagree with that." Joe smirked.

"I shouldn't have blown up at you the way I did." Bess said.

"I don't blame you." Joe assured her. "You had a right to know."

"As long as I don't find out from the emergency room instead of you." Bess deadpanned.

Joe took her hand, "Well, I can't make any guarantees to that one but I can try to be more honest."

"That seems fair."

"So are you planning on sticking around?" Joe asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"I don't think I have much of a choice." Bess said, lightly chuckling.

"Maybe afterwards, I can take try to fix it up for you." Joe offered. "In the meantime, I think someone is waiting on us."

Bess grasped his shoulders, kissing his check softly before heading inside.

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this 2 part one-shot, please feel free to throw out any feedback as long as it's civil. I have a few more ideas for stories, so if anyone has some as well, I'd love to them. Also, if you ever wanna chat, please by all means feel free to message me, I love talking about writing and what not with others. Have a good one!**

 **Emma:-D**


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